Vastness of India is pointed up by the change in geography between here (almost tropical) and Mumbai. Too many things to see in the time we had, and considering that our ship for some reason was docked in the industrial area rather than ... Read More

Vastness of India is pointed up by the change in geography between here (almost tropical) and Mumbai. Too many things to see in the time we had, and considering that our ship for some reason was docked in the industrial area rather than with other cruise ships. Shuttle buses are apparently blocked by the local taxi unions. Read Less

This is the only port on the drop down list, and we had a wonderful day trip round the city. Colombo was another stop, and that also was a very interesting day. As we are more into seeing the cities than doing activities, we were ... Read More

This is the only port on the drop down list, and we had a wonderful day trip round the city. Colombo was another stop, and that also was a very interesting day. As we are more into seeing the cities than doing activities, we were fascinated by the ways of life in the different cities.
Male in the Maldives was very, very hot, but we had a reasonable tour guide who showed us some of the everyday life there - including the fish market! The islands in the Seychelles were just beautiful, the beaches a dream with lots of opportunities to swim and snorkel. We disembarked at Mahe, and had a very extensive and informative trip around the island before staying at the Banyan Tree for a week over Christmas. Read Less

Daytripping in any Port of Call because of time issues means it is difficult to be fair, what I missed was probably the best, what I saw was even more likely to be the worst. For example I felt I could have spent more time in Cochin on the ... Read More

Daytripping in any Port of Call because of time issues means it is difficult to be fair, what I missed was probably the best, what I saw was even more likely to be the worst. For example I felt I could have spent more time in Cochin on the other hand island ports of call seldom offered enough of interest. Generally on this trip we toured by taxi, got into the back streets, the tourist traps were not really worth a visit. This really was my conclusion on most of the ports. Where they had city tour buses these tendered to provide the best value, did not restrict what you experienced, but of course you frequently ran out of time. Read Less

The best thing to do in Cochin is tour the Backwaters area by boat, but we had done this on a previous visit. This time we negotiated with one of the tuk-tuk drivers located near the gangway and hired him for $15.00 per person for the ... Read More

The best thing to do in Cochin is tour the Backwaters area by boat, but we had done this on a previous visit. This time we negotiated with one of the tuk-tuk drivers located near the gangway and hired him for $15.00 per person for the day. We visited Le Meridien for drinks which has a lovely location on the beginning of the backwater canals and then toured the old city for some interesting photo ops. The Chinese Fishing nets are also worth a visit. Read Less

We walked the few minutes to the port gate and hired a tuk tuk and found it a wonderful experience. The drivers were polite and friendly, they all have a list of places of interest to visit so we left it up the driver and were not ... Read More

We walked the few minutes to the port gate and hired a tuk tuk and found it a wonderful experience. The drivers were polite and friendly, they all have a list of places of interest to visit so we left it up the driver and were not disappointed.
Always haggle about the price of the trip - I think its expected.
The only thing wrong with Cochin was we were not there long enough! Read Less

We had a wonderful tour in Kerala visiting a model traditional village with demonstrations of traditional ways of fishing, use of coconuts and palms, pottery making, rope making, Chinese fishing nets, etc.

We had a wonderful tour in Kerala visiting a model traditional village with demonstrations of traditional ways of fishing, use of coconuts and palms, pottery making, rope making, Chinese fishing nets, etc. Read Less

If you have never been to India then this is not a great way to be introduced to the country. The port itself is fairly shoddy and industrial, absolutely nothing to do at the port so if you get off the ship then you need a taxi or tuk tuk ... Read More

If you have never been to India then this is not a great way to be introduced to the country. The port itself is fairly shoddy and industrial, absolutely nothing to do at the port so if you get off the ship then you need a taxi or tuk tuk or ship tour in order to get anywhere.
Cochin is pretty interesting, we booked a taxi for 4 hours for 2 people, agreed a cost of $30 for the driver to take us to all the sights, which he did, and all with good humour and plenty of ad hoc stops when we asked to stop or go to a shop. In the end we paid $40 for a 4 hour excursion, great value.
The taxis are all aligned in the port and getting one really could not be easier. The tuk tuks are the same, but they are open to the elements, and fumes, so depends on your preference. Read Less

Nothing open as it was Independence Day. People,were advised not to take taxis from the ship so had a long hot walk to nothing. We did take a taxi fro the ship and had a tour round the town but it was not very interesting.

Nothing open as it was Independence Day. People,were advised not to take taxis from the ship so had a long hot walk to nothing. We did take a taxi fro the ship and had a tour round the town but it was not very interesting. Read Less

We did not take a ship excursion but hired a taxi ourselves. We have been here before and knew where we wished to go. The taxi driver was helpful and did exactly as we asked - we saw w=exactly what we wanted.

We did not take a ship excursion but hired a taxi ourselves. We have been here before and knew where we wished to go. The taxi driver was helpful and did exactly as we asked - we saw w=exactly what we wanted. Read Less

Tours were very very very expensive for what they were offering, we chose the TUC TUC as transport to go around and got a superb tour of the city, far better than the coach would have offered!

Tours were very very very expensive for what they were offering, we chose the TUC TUC as transport to go around and got a superb tour of the city, far better than the coach would have offered! Read Less

Kerala was very interesting. Went on a private tour with Muzahrin tours. Went on a boat trip, walked through markets selling just about everything, saw Basilicas and Synagogues. A fascinating day.

Kerala was very interesting. Went on a private tour with Muzahrin tours. Went on a boat trip, walked through markets selling just about everything, saw Basilicas and Synagogues. A fascinating day. Read Less